Mikropolis

Dog on a leash

Gimme Gimme Gimme

Notes:
Mikkeller & Friends is getting too crowded for you? Or maybe just too turquoise? You're in the mood for a cocktail? Maybe a beer? Something alcoholic to sip on? Head to Mikropolis, the latest Mikkeller offspring! Mikropolis is Mikkeller's attempt at a casual (yet ambitious) cocktail bar. We visited on the bar's second opening day where customers were few and the atmosphere relaxed. B opted for a beer (they have around 15 on tap if I remember correctly and an extensive bottle list), while I jumped straight to the cocktails. First up a Dog on a leash featuring Mikkeller's White Dog, an un-aged whisky, citrus, egg white and freshly grated raw licorice as the final touch. Excellent cocktail (so excellent that I will forgive the use of licorice, which is excessively overused. Marketeers will put it in anything edible at these latitudes). Second up, Gimme Gimme Gimme, another sour. This one featured Del Maguey mezcal, which provided a nice backdrop for other ingredients including cinnamon and Dry Curacao. The cocktails are reasonably priced at 75-85dkk, in other words competitive prices in a Copenhagen context where cocktails easily can set you back 120dkk. Go now, before the presumably upcoming hipster invasion!

Mikropolis
Vendersgade 22
1363 Copenhagen K

Amass (Table 153)

Restaurant entrance.

Apéritifs. I had a glass of sparkling red, pinot noir to be exact, a Charmoire from Domaine Alice Beaufort. B had a glass of Bois san Soif by Olivier Masson, made from romorantin and menu pineau.

First dish. St. John's wort with fillings of fava beans, samphire and crème fraiche. Refreshing. In our glass 2012 Amphibolit Nature from Domain Landron in Loire. Served in jeroboam (double magnum) bottles with beautiful seals of yellow lacquer.

The bread was interestingly one of the highlights for me this evening. Served steaming warm, featuring fermented potato and served with pesto made from greens from the garden. Delicious and certainly different. I love how fermentation is getting popular among Copenhagen chefs!

Raw mackerel and spring onion, topped with crispy mackerel skin. Very simple, somewhat fishy, which I appreciated. 

Chips made from oat porridge, walnuts and grated, frozen foie gras. Very subtle, almost too subtle, and easily forgotten. We had a white wine from Bourgogne in our glass. A 2012 Aligoté by Didier Montchovet.

Crisp bits of chicken skin, egg yolk, virgin butter and a "salsa" of sugarsnap peas and söl. So rich but still a very well-balanced dish. A highlight this evening. We drank an oxidized Savagnin from Arbois in Jura

To round off the savory adventures, there was lamb. Breast of lamb in thin slices, accompanied by raw cucumber and gooseberries and mint. A very delicate dish, which however lacked a wow-effect and left an impression of being slightly insipid and slightly unbalanced, as the gooseberries and mint almost took up too much space in the mouth. Our wine pairing was a blend of Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanch and Chardonnay from Anjou, a 2010 Sauvageonne from Domaine Les Griottes. Evident fruity aromas and as such a very good match.

Dessert was a lovely composition of unsweetened milk ice cream, topped with wild cherries, bread croûtons and olive oil. In our glasses, we had another wine by Alice Beaufort, Le Petit Beaufort, Demi-Sec. Unfortunately bit too acidic and dry in the given context.

Avecs. Which could not afford. We had a lovely, Danish apple brandy instead.

Warm and buttery madeleines with pepper, to be eaten with rhubarb compote.

Amass
Refshalevej 153
1432 Copenhagen

Notes:
Frankly, it's about fair time that I get to blog about my experience at highly anticipated Amass, fronted by former head chef at Noma, California-born Matt Orlando. B and I visited more than one month ago amidst a heavy final thesis spurt and time has thus been scarce. Better late than never, though and as it appears that the food in the mean time has been more than sufficiently described in detail (as well as photographed from every possible angle), this review will refrain from just that. Rather I will provide my later reflections on how we experienced the concept of table 153 and the restaurant as a whole.

Turning the clock back to mid-June, tables for Amass were first released for reservation. B had expressed a distinct desire to visit since the restaurant launch was made official in early 2013, and I was quick to book us a table at the Table 153. According to mr. Orlando the concept of the table, hosting a maximum of 10 diners each night, is to bring all sorts of people together. One may call it a communal table, which is a concept I think the concept to some extent succeeded with. 

As we entered the restaurant we were brought to the lounge area for an apéritif with our fellow diners. These included two hardcore and very well-off gastro-tourists from NYC, a Dubai-based Australian heading for an ironman in Sweden, an Austrian-Danish couple and two twenty-something female brits. Quite a mix, and most of all, it was interesting to hear their take on Amass and the Copenhagen dining scene in general. A good start to the evening.

We were seated for dinner and were all served the tasting menu. Both B and I felt slightly disappointed that this "special" table provided nothing but a different, interactive setting for our dinner. Unjustified maybe, I don't know. It was however especially in the light that Amass' acoustic conditions by no means supported the concept of a communal table that disappointment set in (as also pointed to here and here). I was put at the very end and was only able to speak to B and one other person across the table. Further, it was really hard to identify the details of the food and wines when presented by the waiters.

These are thus the main points of criticism of the night. But all in all, what is the conclusion? No doubt Amass is the single-most hyped restaurant opening in Copenhagen, which I have ever witnessed. I can thus only imagine the pressure that Mr. Orlando and the rest of the staff must have felt at opening, particularly in the light of how everyone will compare it to Noma. I think the restaurant showcased a number of sympathetic features, especially the little menu tweaks from day to day is a detail that I really appreciated. The food as such did not blow me away. Was it good? Yes. Mind-blowing? No. I found much greater attention to detail at Bror for instance, which by the way comes at a lower price tag and is set in a cosy venue, too. So as the food certainly was good, I felt like too much attention had been brought to the non-food features of the restaurant. The location, the space, the 153 concept, "lets do a Mikkeller-colab", "always spaces reserved for walk-ins" stressed and so on. And I certainly understand how the restaurant would like to clearly establish its own identify from the very beginning. 

In total, the 153 concept has potential to become really great. Unfortunately, the surroundings when we were visiting did not quite support the proper execution of its mission, to bring people together, and somehow our dinner at Amass did not turn out to be the holistic and sensory experience, which he had hoped for. Too little interaction and too little engagement. Will we visit again? Possibly, but not until the first half year has passed and the fundamental components of the restaurant have been further established.

Mikkeller

Pizza Port A.B.L.E. (Achievement Beyond Life's Experiences) Stout + Frederiksdal cherry wine.

Mikkeller
Viktoriagade 8B-C
1655 Copenhagen V

Notes: A shout-out for one of Copenhagen's finest beer bars! B and I dropped in before heading for NOSE2TAIL on a Sunday evening, where the place was semi-full - I don't think there is such a thing as off-peak hours here. Understable as Mikkeller always has 20 different (and oftentimes rare) beers on tap, and they are in heavy rotation! This time B was intrigued by an American stout by Pizza Port Brewing Company, while I was almost ashamed not to order beer as well. I had however spotted that they were serving Frederiksdal cherry wine by the glass for just 50dkk. For those who do not know Frederiksdal, the product that they produce is unlike any other cherry wines, quite dry and complex. I have been served it at Radio previously and it can be found in renowned restaurants like Le Sommelier, Kødbyens Fiskebar and even noma. A collaboration between Frederiksdal and Mikkeller is by the way coming up, taking form as Spontan Cherry (check out the beautiful artwork, too!), which should be hit the bar quite soon. I should note that Mikkeller is open every, single day - and that they are expanding with a new and larger bar, named Mikkeller & Friends to be opened on March 16 (take note, 1000 beers will be handed out for free!). Highly recommended - and looking forward to seeing the new space in Copenhagen N.

Mielcke & Hurtigkarl feat. Mikkeller

Apéritif - the Mikkeller Mielcke & Hurtigkarl beer, a belgian-style ale, matured on sauternes casks. Lots of sweet, floral notes. Very vinous and a great for accompanying the amuses of charcuterie...

... The first amuse being smoked calf's tongue. The piece I got was way too chewy, but B was a huge fan.

Then there was lardo, which I found quite acrid... We were also served pepper cured duck's breast and smoked pork neck, which I did not manage to snap a picture of.

First beer was Mikkeller's gueuze-type Spontanale to which a fair amount of cilantro had been added by M&H. Accompanied by a dish of fermented cabbage (since December apparently) and oysters...

...and topped with a sauce of smoked bone marrow, bread crumbs and more cilantro. This dish was a great start to the dinner and though neither the beer nor the dish was very "pleasing" to the palate, it certainly sharpened our tastebuds.

Second course was the highlight of the evening for me! The first lumpfish roe of the season served with extremely delicate, almost transparent, lightly pickled skate wing, pickled onions and ramps in a creamy, dashi sauce. There might be snow outside but it made me feel like spring is just around the corner.

It was served with Nelson Sauvignon, which is a very dry Belgian ale stored on Austrian wine casks. M&H had added bonito to the beer, which made for a smoky, slightly sweet, and certainly bold beer pairing. 

Our third beer and course was a really interesting match! It's Alive, Mikkeller's take on the Belgian trappist beer, Orval. M&H had added shiso and umeboshi to such a degree that the beer was almost like salt water. Not entirely pleasing on it's own...

...but it turned out to be a perfect pairing for the third course - a greasy burger! Not any burger, though - it featured wagyu beef which was partly grilled, partly raw, a garlic and miso mayo, spring onions and cress served in a fried, brioche bun. I don't think I have ever had a more indulgent dish, and eating this with our bare hands, this was certainly food porn at it's finest! Interesting, the beer lost all of it's salty edge and was a refreshing pairing to the greasy food.

The fourth course started off like this... Julienned, raw daikon (and wood sorrel?)...

Then this came to our table! A salt dough encrusted halibut to be shared at the table.

None of our fellow diners dared to dig into the fish, and B therefore took the lead.

The halibut was then served with a sauce made with the #1 fish enemy, according to Jakob Mielcke, red wine. The sauce also featured soy sauce, ox tail broth and dashi and a good amount of salmon roe. It went beautifully with the George beer, which is an entirely black, imperial stout with 12,12% alcohol. M&H had added zest and juice of bergamot which made for a very powerful and aromatic pairing to the almost meaty fish. Great dish.

Time for desserts! First up, raw slices of jerusalem artichoke which was also represented in a sort of mousse. It was escorted by a darky, sticky sesame fudge and cookie crumbs of a sort. In the glass, we had Funky E Star, a Belgian pale ale from Sauternes casks that M&H had feed a fair amount of cream caramel. Somehow I did not manage to get a picture of the beer but it looked a great deal like thin Bailey's - and also tasted a bit like it. Not my favorite of the evening, but the sugary beer went very well with the sweetness of the jerusalem artichokes.

Sixth and last course! This was candied yuzu served up with a an extremely aromatic bergamot sorbet, a sponge cake and what I guess was a matcha mousse of sorts. Again, served with Funky E-star, this time on Chardonnay casks, featuring a generous amount of ginger

Mielcke & Hurtigkarl
Frederiksberg Runddel 1
2000 Frederiksberg

Notes:
This is really not representative of a normal evening at Mielcke & Hurtigkarl - but B and I agreed that it is a place that we would love to return to under normal and less experimental conditions. Apart from the appetizers which I did not care too much for, the food we had this evening was extremely delicate, the ingredient quality unquestionably amazing, and the Asian influences were subtly but interestingly incorporated. The meal had a bit of everything - something weird, something rich, something delicate, and we both left full and satisfied. Prior to the evening I had been a bit unsure of quite what to expect as we previously have attended a beer and wine event at Kiin Kiin from which we left with mixed feelings. The idea of letting Mielcke and Hurtigkarl exercise their magic on the Mikkeller beer however turned out to be an unusual but interesting and tasty concept. We will certainly return to Mielcke & Hurtigkarl again, probably during the summer, when justice can be brought to the beautiful settings (and the current renovation of the restaurant is finished). Highly recommended!